1908-S Barber Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 784,000 made
- Mintage
- 784,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.25 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1908-S Barber Quarter worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1908-S Barber Quarter rare?
- Somewhat. 784,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1908-S Barber Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1908 Barber Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle's tail. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1908 are scarcer?
- The 1913-S at 40,000, the 1912-S at 708,000. So the 1908-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1908-S Barber Quarter coins were made?
- 784,000.
What to check on your 1908-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1908 (4.2 million made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1908 Barber Quarter Proof (545 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the headband is the benchmark: a full, sharp LIBERTY is required for Very Fine and above.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1908-S
San Francisco made 784,000 in 1908, down from 1.4 million in 1907. The next year it made 1.3 million (1909-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1908-O alone came to 6.2 million, roughly 8 for every 1908-S. If you're checking a pile of 1908 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1909-O (712,000) and the 1899-S (708,000).
San Francisco struck the Barber Quarter in 21 issues between 1892 and 1915. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1913-S (40,000). Within the 1900s it's 3rd smallest of 32, between the 1909-O (712,000) and the 1903-S (1 million).
Denver joins in 1906 (1902 to 1908)
Steady demand kept Philadelphia mintages between about 9.6 and 12.2 million from 1902 to 1904, while New Orleans and San Francisco struck from about 1 to 4.7 million each. San Francisco made no quarters in 1904 or 1906. The 1905-O (1,230,000) and the 1908-S (784,000) are the scarcer coins of the period.
The new Denver Mint struck its first quarters in 1906, a total of 3,280,000 with a D below the eagle. In 1907 and 1908 all four mints struck quarters at once, a first for the denomination. Coins of these years are among the most available Barber quarters in circulated grades. Uncirculated pieces from New Orleans often show soft strikes at the eagle's claws and the top of the shield, so sharpness varies more than the mintages suggest.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1908
Congress ordered the motto "In God We Trust" restored to US gold coins in May 1908, so both the double eagle and the eagle come in "No Motto" and "With Motto" types this year.
How to recognize it
Charles Barber's Liberty faces right wearing a cap, a laurel wreath and a headband inscribed LIBERTY, with IN GOD WE TRUST above and 13 stars around. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle holding arrows and an olive branch with a ribbon reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. The mint mark sits below the eagle's tail. On worn coins, the letters of LIBERTY are the first thing to fade.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Barber Quarter (1892–1916) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 784,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.25 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1808 troy oz (5.625 g) |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber |
Other 1908 Barber Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 Barber Quarter | 4,232,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1908 Barber Quarter Proof | 545 | Proof | 0.1808 oz |
| 1908-D Barber Quarter | 5,788,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1908-S Barber Quarter | 784,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
| 1908-O Barber Quarter | 6,244,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1808 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.